Elliott Yamin

Singer

Artist Biography

Elliott Yamin returns with his fourth album, ‘As Time Goes By’, a genre-bending collection of emotive originals highlighted by his soulful and evocative voice. Influenced by some of his favorite music of the last few decades, Yamin has crafted and co-written a timeless set of original songs by fusing R&B, urban, rock and contemporary elements all while remaining true to what his fans love about him the most: his expressive voice and performance. Unafraid of experimenting with multiple production styles in a single song, the album ranges from emotional ballads with an 80's flair to Motown-style upbeat grooves with a modern edge.

Yamin launched his recording career following his appearance on American Idol Season 5 as the top 3 finalist. His highly anticipated debut album Elliott Yamin, debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard album chart was the highest-debuting album by an independent artist in SoundScan history. The self-titled disc achieved gold status in the U.S. and Japan (where he continues to tour and maintain a large audience), and yielded the platinum hit ‘Wait for You.’ In the wake of the first album's release, Yamin received considerable media exposure on countless television shows and toured extensively around the world with his live band. He released the Christmas-themed “Sounds of the Season: The Elliott Yamin Holiday Collection’. It was reissued in expanded form the following year as ‘My Kind of Holiday’. Yamin's second album, ‘Fight for Love’, followed, spawning the successful singles ‘Fight for Love’ and ‘Can't Keep on Loving You (From a Distance)’. His third album, ‘Let’s Get to What’s Real’, found Yamin stretching as an artist as a writer and co-producer.

Yamin continues to tour domestically and internationally which have also included three trips to Africa as a spokesman and advocate to the ‘Malaria no More Foundation’ as well as a variety of charities, relief groups and peace organizations. Having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 16, he has worked tirelessly to use his platform for advocacy and is a spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to help create awareness, raise money for research and help find a cure.

Elliott Yamin was born in Los Angeles and soon after, his family moved to Pasadena, CA where he first discovered his vocal talent while singing with his neighbors. Yamin later moved to Richmond, VA as a youth, and soon found employment singing cover material in a local jazz group and working as a DJ on a local R&B radio station.

While Yamin was working in a pharmacy when he took a chance and drove to Boston, Massachusetts to audition for American Idol and won a spot on Season 5. His signature performances on the show, with renditions of James Moody’s “Moody’s Mood For Love’, Leon Russell’s ‘A Song for You’, Elvis Presley’s ‘Trouble’ and Stevie Wonder’s ‘If You Really Love Me’ made him a fan favorite and catapulted him to 3rd place in that season. Simon Cowell described him as “potentially the best male vocalist” of the competition, while Stevie Wonder encouraged him to pursue music full-time. It’s been full steam ever since.